Only half of local authorities in England and Wales have so far signed up to the Enforcement Concordat which was launched last year. It sets out a code of practice for fair regulation of business and requires a new approach to enforcement with the emphasis on prevention before prosecution and dialogue between businesses and enforcers. It was drawn up by central and local Government in consultation with consumer and business groups. The In the last six months about 100 authorities have signed up, but this is well below the expected take up rate.The difficulty for councils is that they have to redesign procedures and persuade their staff to think differently about the job they are doing. Because the change involves costs with limited benefits, signing up to the Concordat is low down on the change agenda. Cabinet Office Ministers wish to avoid compelling local authorities to sign up by introducing legislation and the response in the next few months will be critical in deciding whether to continue with the voluntary approach.

Over 150 Youth Offending Teams will start work on 1 April 2000 as part of a package of measures to implement the Youth Justice strategy. The multi- agency teams will include social workers, police and probation officers, and education and health staff. They will co-ordinate and deliver the Youth Justice reforms locally and their work will be monitored by the Youth Justice Board.Pilot Youth Offending Teams have been operating in 10 areas since September 1998 to find out how best to implement intervention programmes to make youngsters face up to their crimes and change their attitudes. The pilots have helped to identify good practice and the measures they have developed are being evaluated by a team from Sheffield, Hull and Swansea Universities.